Blog

14th September, 2021

If there’s one thing that’s become apparent over the course of the pandemic, it’s the dependence we all have on each other. How our supply chains are linked, how our business networks and partnerships need each other to survive and although it shouldn’t need saying – just how important it is to business to be paid. And not just paid, but paid on time. So we caught up with Liz Barclay, Small Business Commissioner ahead of her interview with us next week for our Focus Week to get her thoughts on where the UK is heading with payments right now, and what could be done to help smaller business to be paid promptly.

So Liz, do you think the pandemic has changed people’s attitude to payments?

22nd July, 2021

We often talk about Transformation as if it’s a finite thing. But transformation across Purchase to Pay is a continuous journey. Your processes and technology can be transformed from what they were, but like going to the gym, what’s fit and healthy today, will be tired and clunky tomorrow if you don’t keep up with things. One of the effects of the pandemic was to focus everyone’s attention on the company’s tech. From internal meetings, to global spend and cash management - it caused companies to scramble to get to grips with their digital strategy. In our latest survey, supported by our partners, ITESOFT, we asked our P2P community to talk to us about their experiences.

13th July, 2021

As the ubiquitous tones of David Baddiel and Frank Skinner fade into the background and the England shirts return to their natural habitat in back drawers up and down the country, hope turns to resignation. As the song goes; “we’ve seen it all before.”

The Power of a good Waistcoat

And yet, there really did seem to be something different about this incarnation of the England squad. You didn’t have to be a dedicated follower of football to notice that some of the teams in the past seemed to have more loyalty to their clubs than the national team. Were perhaps a bit too keen on the apres football than was good for them. But this team seemed to gel in a common purpose. As with any team, some of that comes from the individuals involved and a lot of it comes from the leadership. Though we might not be able to remember why it was, we can all remember teachers at school who we didn’t want to disappoint. Maybe it’s the waistcoats...but whatever that “it” was, Gareth Southgate seemed to have it.

On 29 March 2021, the PRA published its long awaited Supervisory Statement (SS2/21) (and associated Policy Statement (PS7/21)) on outsourcing and third party risk management.

In the days before Brexit, the UK requirements on outsourcing were largely covered in EU legislation issued by the EU supervisory bodies. And currently, the European Banking Authority (EBA) Guidelines on outsourcing, has transitional provisions until 31 December 2021. The UK FCA notified the EBA of its intention to continue to comply with the EBA Guidelines back in 2019, which is important to note, because firms subject to the PRA’s SS will also be subject to the FCA’s requirements.